The invention relates to electrical connectors of the type connectable to a matching connector and having a body for receiving contacts that carries a threaded rotary locking nut for cooperation with a threaded portion of the matching connector, the nut being fast with internal ratchet teeth having edges each separating a face with a lower slope from a face with a steeper slope relative to a circumferential direction, the body of the connector being non-rotatably connected to catch means cooperating with notches formed by the ratchet teeth to establish a ratchet effect that opposes rotation of the ring in an unscrewing direction in which the catch means come into abutment against the steeper faces.
Such connectors may be said to be "self-locking" or "differential force locked" in that the torque to be exerted to unscrew the ring is greater than that required for tightening it. An important application for such connectors is in aviation where vibration is likely to loosen threaded connections and where bayonet-type connections are unsuitable in many cases.
Numerous self-locking connectors are already known in which the catch means are constituted by spring blades, generally of metal, that are designed to abut the steeper faces during uncoupling. Such connectors are complex and/or suffer from the possibility of the spring blades jamming the connector in a fully-coupled condition.